


IOU: One Captain America

by Jade_Dragoness



Series: Plan: 'Put A Ring On It' is a Go [1]
Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Community: schmoop_bingo, Coulson May Kill Clint For This, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Not Canon Compliant, shameless schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-30
Updated: 2012-03-30
Packaged: 2017-11-02 17:53:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/371734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jade_Dragoness/pseuds/Jade_Dragoness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In Phil’s opinion Clint picks the worse possible location to propose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	IOU: One Captain America

**Author's Note:**

> Written to fill up Schmoop Bingo #11 - Proposal - Public Place.

“Coulson!” Clint shouted as he catapulted over a NYPD police car riddled with bullet holes, landing on the other side with a flex of his knees, before he sprinted over the cracked asphalt to where Phil lay. Even from meters away Clint had no problem seeing the growing stain of blood against the charcoal grey suit coat. 

Phil coughed and stirred as Clint slammed to a stop beside him. Only the thickness of his body armor protected Clint from damaging his knees. “Jesus, sir. Don’t move.”

Phil ignored him and grunted as he sat up. “I‘m fine, Hawkeye.”

“Then why are you bleeding?” Clint asked sarcastically. His hands were steady as he tore at the buttons of Phil‘s shirt but inside he felt like he was about to shake apart. “You just felt like helping the city paint the sidewalk in blood-red today with the help of three bullets?”

“The vest caught them,” Phil said quietly. “Only my arm was grazed.”

There was a deep furrow on Phil’s upper arm, bisecting the triceps and biceps. The bullet had nicked the brachial vein and that was the source of the blood but other than that Phil was fine, just like he’d told Clint. Clint swallowed down hard feeling a little dizzy with relief. He’d seen Phil get hit and fall from his vantage point and it had taken everything he had to take the shooter down before he’d all but thrown himself off the building to reach him as quickly as he could.

“Hawkeye? How‘s Agent Coulson?” Steve asked over the earpiece. There was a tiny echo from the gutter. 

Phil leaned over with a small grunt to grab his earpiece from where it had fallen when he’d gone down. “I‘m fine, Captain.”

“He needs a medic,” Clint corrected.

“We‘ve secured the rest of the Ten Ring‘s forces,” Steve said. “Stay with him until the medics arrive.” 

Phil opened up his mouth to protest but he shut it when he caught the expression on Clint’s face.

“Understood,” Clint said. He sat next to Phil until the medics showed up, although Phil didn’t stop giving orders to the SHIELD agents which had descended to help take the Ten Rings survivors into custody. He stayed put and calm until the medic showed up and began cutting Phil out of his shirt. Then Clint turned off his earpiece to take a moment to himself, hiding among the people who came out of the buildings to gawk now that the danger was over, and just _tremble_. 

Jesus, it had been close. Too damned close.

By the time the tremors in his hands stopped Clint came to a decision he’d been wrestling with for far too long. It took him five minutes to find what he needed and another five to pick out what he wanted. He didn’t have money on him but apparently he could promise Captain America as collateral with a quickly written IOU - which he‘d definitely have to tease Steve about later - if he failed to come back to pay. He made it back in time to see the SHIELD medic set a neat row of stitches into Phil’s arm. The medic kept grumbling under her breath how it wasn’t her job and Phil should really get a doctor to look it over but Phil ignored her to rattle off rapid fire orders to the junior agents standing around to him.

“I need to talk to you,” Clint said, uncaring of the curious looks he got from all the agents.

Phil frowned at him and spoke into a radio by his side. “Hill, could you take over the coordination for five minutes?”

“Fine, Agent Coulson, but if Stark says something stupid to me I won‘t be held responsible for my actions.”

“Understood,” Phil said calmly, although Clint could read the amusement in the slant of his mouth. “I‘ll fill out the forms myself.” He clicked off the radio and gave the junior agents a cool look which made them back off a few feet. The medic ignored him and kept working.

Clint took a deep breath, considered how close Phil came to dying, and pulled the jewelry box from his pocket. “Will you marry me?”

Phil stared at him for a long moment and then at the gold band in its black velvet lined box. 

The junior agents who were shamelessly eavesdropping stared Clint with wide eyes and more than one dropped jaw. The medic who’d been wrapping a bandage around Phil‘s arm froze. She looked at Phil then at Clint, quickly finished wrapping the bandage and moved away to join the rest of the SHIELD agents.

Phil turned the radio back on. “Hill, could you make that ten minutes?”

“Ten minutes, Coulson but for every minute extra you’ll owe me one.”

“Agreed,” Phil said and clicked off the radio again. 

Clint had sweat trickling down the back of his neck but his hands remained steady. “I want you to marry me, Phil.”

“We‘ve been dating only four months,” Phil said quietly. 

“We’ve known each other for _years._ ”

“Working together and dating are two very different things, Clint,” Phil said, his eyes caught by the ring again. 

“If we worked in a business office, sure,” Clint said with a shrug. “But with the work we do, you can‘t say we don‘t know each other backwards, forwards and upside down. Especially upside down.”

Phil smiled a bit at that before it fell away. “Are you asking me because I got shot?” he asked somberly. “Because you don‘t need to-”

“Yes, but that‘s not the real reason,” Clint interrupted him. He got on bended knee, and looked up at Phil with the most serious expression he’d even worn. The susurration of noise from the civilians rose sharply as they caught sight of him. “I‘ve been thinking about it for a few weeks now and I kept talking myself out of it but when I saw you get hit… I’m done thinking. Marry me.”

For a terrible moment, Clint was certain that Phil would say no. He could practically see him thinking through every pro and con at high speeds before Phil’s perfect poker face softened. Phil reached out to touch Clint’s face. His fingers were faintly stained with his own blood and smelled of it and gun power yet his touch was tender. Yes, I‘ll marry you,” he said gently then he quirked his mouth up amusement, “But I may never forgive you for asking me in front of all those news network cameras.”

Clint whooped as he jumped to his feet before caught Phil’s face between his hands to kiss him. He ignored the excited murmur of voices from the SHIELD agents, as well as the cheering of the people standing behind the NYPD do-not-cross lines. Every single camera from bulky TV cameras to small phones was pointed in their direction. Clint pulled the ring out of the box, letting it drop at his feet as he slid the ring onto Phil’s finger.

“You know marriage will change things,” Phil said quietly. 

“I know,” Clint breathed back. “It means you won‘t ever be able to get rid of me and you‘re legally obligated to have sex with me.” 

Kissing Phil as he chuckled was among Clint’s favorite top ten ways to kiss him.

“Now go,” Phil said, when Clint finally pulled back enough to let him catch his breath. The hitch in his breathing having as much to do from his aching ribs as Clint’s kiss. “We‘re still in the middle of clean up and in another minute I‘ll be owing Hill more favors.”

Clint grinned and stole another kiss before he loped off to find his team. He wanted to talk to Natasha about putting together a wedding before Phil got cold feet and before Phil thought to ask her to be his best man. Clint also wanted to know if with Tony’s contacts he’d be able to have the wedding before the week was over. He also had to find his wallet and get back that IOU before everyone found out he’d traded in Captain America for an engagement ring.

Clint’s cheeks hurt from the width of his smile. Phil said yes!

End


End file.
